What is global warming?

Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when
greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and
light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts
many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change, so they die.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is when the temperature rises because the sun’s heat and light is
trapped in the earth’s atmosphere. This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a very
hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot. This is because the heat and
light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows, but it can’t get
back out. This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth. The heat and light can get
through the atmosphere, but it can’t get out. As a result, the temperature rises.

The sun’s heat can get into the car through the windows but is then trapped. This makes
what ever the place might be, a greenhouse, a car, a building, or the earth’s atmosphere,
hotter. This diagram shows the heat coming into a car as visible light (light you can see)
and infrared light (heat). Once the light is inside the car, it is trapped and the heat builds
up, just like it does in the earth’s atmosphere.

Sometimes the temperature can change in a way that helps us. The greenhouse effect
makes the earth appropriate for people to live on. Without it, the earth would be freezing,
or on the other hand it would be burning hot. It would be freezing at night because the
sun would be down. We would not get the sun’s heat and light to make the night
somewhat warm. During the day, especially during the summer, it would be burning
because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter it, so people, plants, and
animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.

Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it, if there
gets to be too many gases, the earth can get unusually warmer, and many plants, animals,
and people will die. They would die because there would be less food (plants like corn,
wheat, and other vegetables and fruits). This would happen because the plants would not
be able to take the heat. This would cause us to have less food to eat, but it would also
limit the food that animals have. With less food, like grass, for the animals that we need
to survive (like cows) we would even have less food. Gradually, people, plants, and
animals would all die of hunger.

What are greenhouse gasses?

Greenhouse gasses are gasses are in the earth’s atmosphere that collect heat and light
from the sun. With too many greenhouse gasses in the air, the earth’s atmosphere will
trap too much heat and the earth will get too hot. As a result people, animals, and plants
would die because the heat would be too strong.

What is global warming doing to the environment?

Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Global warming makes the sea
rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big
problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the
plants and causes some of them to die. When they die, the animals lose a source of food,
along with their habitat. Although animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens
than plants do, they may die also. When the plants and animals die, people lose two
sources of food, plant food and animal food. They may also lose their homes. As a
result, they would also have to leave the area or die. This would be called a break in the
food chain, or a chain reaction, one thing happening that leads to another and so on.

The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. Many things that are
happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is
warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean.

Algae is a producer that you can see floating on the top of the water. (A producer is
something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis, like grass.) This
floating green algae is food to many consumers in the ocean. (A consumer is something
that eats the producers.) One kind of a consumer is small fish. There are many others
like crabs, some whales, and many other animals. Fewer algae is a problem because
there is less food for us and many animals in the sea.

Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is
killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global
warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches.
Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole forests. This
happens because global warming can make the earth very hot. In forests, some plants
and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire.

What causes global warming?

Many things cause global warming. One thing that causes global warming is electrical
pollution. Electricity causes pollution in many ways, some worse than others. In most
cases, fossil fuels are burned to create electricity. Fossil fuels are made of dead plants
and animals. Some examples of fossil fuels are oil and petroleum. Many pollutants
(chemicals that pollute the air, water, and land) are sent into the air when fossil fuels are
burned. Some of these chemicals are called greenhouse gasses.

We use these sources of energy much more than the sources that give off less pollution.
Petroleum, one of the sources of energy, is used a lot. It is used for transportation,
making electricity, and making many other things. Although this source of energy gives
off a lot of pollution, it is used for 38% of the United States’ energy.

Some other examples of using energy and polluting the air are:

Turning on a light
Watching T.V.
Listening to a stereo
Washing or drying clothes
Using a hair dryer
Riding in a car
Heating a meal in the microwave
Using an air conditioner
Playing a video game
Using a dish washer

When you do these things, you are causing more greenhouse gasses to be sent into the air.
Greenhouse gasses are sent into the air because creating the electricity you use to do
these things causes pollution. If you think of how many times a day you do these things,
it’s a lot. You even have to add in how many other people do these things! That turns
out to be a lot of pollutants going into the air a day because of people like us using
electricity. The least amount of electricity you use, the better.

When we throw our garbage away, the garbage goes to landfills. Landfills are those big
hills that you go by on an expressway that stink. They are full of garbage. The garbage
is then sometimes burned. This sends an enormous amount of greenhouse gasses into the
air and makes global warming worse.

Another thing that makes global warming worse is when people cut down trees. Trees
and other plants collect carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a greenhouse gas.

Carbon dioxide is the air that our body lets out when we breathe. With fewer trees, it is
harder for people to breathe because there is more CO2 in the air, and we don’t breathe
CO2, we breathe oxygen. Plants collect the CO2 that we breathe out, and they give back
oxygen that we breathe in. With less trees and other plants, such as algae, there is less air
for us, and more greenhouse gases are sent into the air. This means that it is very
important to protect our trees to stop the greenhouse effect, and also so we can breathe
and live.

This gas, CO2, collects light and heat (radiant energy), produced by the sun, and this
makes the earth warmer. The heat and light from the sun is produced in the center of the
sun. (The sun has layers just like the earth.)

This layer is called the core. Just like a core of an apple, it is in the middle. Here there
is a very high temperature, about 27,000,000°F. This heat escapes out of this layer to the
next layer, the radiative zone. This layer is cooler, about 4,500,000°F. Gradually, the
heat and light will pass through the convection zone at a temperature of around
2,000,000°F. When it gets to the surface, the temperature is about 10,000°F. Finally, the
heat and light is sent into space. This is called radiant energy (heat and light). The
radiant energy reaches the earth’s atmosphere. As a result of this process we get light
and heat. When you pollute, you send chemicals into the air that destroy our atmosphere,
so more heat and light cannot escape from the earth’s atmosphere.

What are people doing to stop global warming?

People are doing many things to try to stop global warming. One thing people are doing
is carpooling. Carpooling is driving with someone to a place that you are both going to.
This minimizes the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air by a car.

Another thing that people are doing is being more careful about leaving things turned on
like the television, computer, and the lights. A lot of people are taking time away from
the television, and instead, they are spending more time outdoors. This helps our planet
out a lot. Now, more people are even riding busses, walking to school, and riding their
bikes to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the air. Planting trees and recycling
also helps. If you recycle, less trash goes to the dump, and less trash gets burned. As a
result, there are fewer greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.

Watch what you buy. Many things, such as hairspray and deodorant, now are made to
have less of an impact on the atmosphere. Less greenhouse gasses will rise into the air,
and global warming will slow down.

What is the government doing to stop global warming?

The government is doing many things to help stop global warming. The government
made a law called The Clean Air Act so there is less air pollution. Global warming is
making people get very bad illnesses that could make them disabled, very sick, and
sometimes even die. The Clean Air Act is making many companies change their
products to decrease these problems. Part of the law says that you may not put a certain
amount of pollutants in the air. Hairspray and some other products, like foam cups, had
this problem. Making and using these products let out too much volatile organic
compounds (VOC’s), ozone-destroying chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), and
related chemicals (such as CO2) into the air. Now, almost all of these products have a
label on them telling people what this product can do to the environment and many
people. By 2015 all products listed on the Clean Air Act will have this label on them:

WARNING:contains or manufactured with (thechemical

would go here. For examplechlorofluorocarbons
(CFC’s), a substance which harms public health and
theenvironment by destroying ozone in the upper
atmosphere.

Almost all of the other chemicals that could be harmful will have this label on them
hopefully by this time (2015) as well.

The Clean Air Act has also made car companies change some of the things inside of the
cars. Cars pollute a lot. While cars make more than half of the world’s smog (visible
pollution in the air), many things that cars need to move and heat up make even more
pollution. Some things that are inside of cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles, like
gasoline, pollute the air when the fuel is burned. It comes out as a chemical and when
mixed in the air, forms smog. Smog is a kind of pollution that you see in the form of a
cloud. If you have ever been to California you can see a lot of smog in some places.
Sometimes the smog gets so bad that you cannot see at all! Smog forms when car
exhaust, pollution from homes, and pollution from factories mixes in the air and has a
chemical reaction. The sun’s heat and light add to the reaction.

Cars, buses, and trucks are also responsible for over 50% of dangerous chemicals let into
the air. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer, birth defects, trouble breathing, brain
and nerve damage, lung injures, and burning eyes. Some of the pollutants are so harmful
that they can even cause death.

What are some of the other dangerous chemicals?

Some other chemicals that cause air pollution and are bad for the environment and people
are:

Ozone- Ozone is produced when other pollution chemicals combine. It is the basic
 element of smog. It causes many different kinds of health issues dealing with the
lungs. It can damage plants and limit sight. It can also cause a lot of property
damage.
VOC’s (volatile organic compounds, smog formers)- VOC’s are let into the air when
fuel is burned. This chemical can cause cancer. It can also harm plants.
NOx (nitrogen dioxide)- This chemical forms smog. It is also formed by burning
sources of energy, like gas, coal, and oil, and by cars. This chemical causes
problems in the respiratory system (including the lungs). It causes acid rain, and it
can damage trees. This chemical can eat away buildings and statues.
CO (carbon monoxide)- The source of this chemical is burning sources of energy. It
causes blood vessel problems and respiratory failures.
PM-10 (particulate matter)- The source of this chemical is plowing and burning down
fields. It can cause death and lung damage. It can make it hard for people to
breathe. The smoke, soot, ash, and dust formed by this chemical can make many
cities dirty.
Sulfur Dioxide- This chemical is produced by making paper and metals. This chemical
can cause permanent lung damage. It can cause acid rain which kills trees and
damages building and statues.
Lead- This chemical is in paint, leaded gasoline, smelters, and in lead storage batteries.
It can cause many brain and nerve damages and digestive problems.

Kid can help stop global warming, too!!

Although adults do many things to help stop global warming, kids can do just as much.
Kids can’t do hard things like making a law, but we can do easier things like not
watching as much TV. You can listen to your parents when they say, turn off your lights
or go play outside. Listening to them and actually trying to help can help you, your
environment, and the world.

Bibliography:

“Environment Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect.” World Almanac 2000.

Mahwah: World Almanac Books, 2000.

EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Global Warming Kids Site.
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids. Last visited: December 2001.

National Geographic. Is Bleaching Coral’s Way of Making the Best of a Bad Situation?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/07/
0725_coralbleaching.html. Last visited: December 2001.

Power Scorecard. Electricity and the Environment.

http://powerscorecard.org/elec_env.cfm. Last visited: January 2002.

EPA. The Plain English Guide To The Clean Air Act.

http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/peg_caa/pegcaain.html. Last visited: January 2002.

“Sun.” World Book Encyclopedia, 1978.

Whenever we run home to play our video games, many of us probably don’t realize that
we are running home to pollute the Earth. When we do fun things,
such as playing video games and watching T.V., we are giving off
greenhouse gases. This creates the greenhouse effect. With the
greenhouse effect, we can kill our future.

CONSERVE ENERGY

HybridCarTechnology

Save Money at the Pump

HyrdrogenCaptureTech

PetroleumFuelSources

IN THE NEWS
GlobalWarmingSkeptics - What are they saying?
GlobalWarmingFacts - How does it affect you?
The green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are playing
hazards in the present times. These green house gases trap heat in earth’s atmosphere and
thus result in increasing the temperature of earth. The excessive emission of these gases
is one of the major Causes of Global Warming. The major source of carbon dioxide is the
power plants. These power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from
burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.

There has been a considerable increase in the average temperature of earth in the past
century. This rise in temperature is attributed to the effects of global warming brought
about by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This phenomenon is
called Global Warming. The effects of global warming are numerous. The main culprits
in the issue are excessive discharge of green house gases in the atmosphere.

2008 Toyota Celica Hybrid

Toyota is working on a mid-engine sports car to replace the Celica (and MR2) inspired
by the company's CS&S concept of 2003. According to the UK's Autocar the new model
won't appear before 2008, but will be a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive sportster that seats
four -- to be offered with Toyota's next-generation hybrid powerplant.
2008 Mazda Tribute HEV
The 2008 Mazda Tribute HEV will be one of the few cars that are the least pollution
adding cars on the pavement. Mazda’s 2008 Tribute HEV will adhere to the PZEV and
SULEV-2 emissions standards, partially due to the 4-cylindar-gas engine and a batter
pack that will produce 155 HP under the hood.

Global Warming Skeptics

The global warming skeptics are of the view that

the global warming is a good phenomenon and
should not be stopped. There are various benefits
of global warming according to them. According
to the skeptics, the global warming will increase
humidity in tropical deserts. Also the higher levels
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trigger plant growth. As predicted, due to the global
warming the sea levels will rise. But this can be readily adapted. Another argument of
global warming skeptics is that earth has been warmer than today as seen in its history.
The thought is that global warming is nothing to get afraid of because it just takes us back
to a more natural set of environment of the past. Animals and plants appeared to do just
fine in those eras of warm climate on the earth. According to few skeptics, the present
chilly climate on the earth is an abnormality when judged over the geographical scale.
Over geologic time, the earth’s mean temperature is 22 degrees C, as compared to today's
15.5 degrees C.

FINGERPRINTS: Direct manifestations of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global
temperatures

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather

Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

Glaciers melting

Arctic and Antarctic warming

HARBINGERS: Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and
widespread with continued warming.

Spreading disease

Earlier spring arrival

Plant and animal range shifts and population changes

Coral reef bleaching

Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding

Droughts and fires

Natural Causes
Natural causes are causes that are created by nature. One natural cause is a
release of methane gas from arctic tundra and wetlands. Methane is a
greenhouse gas and a very dangerous gas to our environment. A greenhouse
gas is a gas that traps heat in the earth's atmosphere. Another natural cause is
that the earth goes through a cycle of climate change. This climate change
usually lasts about 40,000 years.

Man-made Causes of Global Warming

Man-made causes probably do the most damage

to our planet. There are many man-made causes of global warming. Pollution is one of
the biggest man-made problems. Pollution comes in many shapes and sizes. Burning
fossil fuels is one thing that causes pollution. Fossil fuels are fuels made of organic
matter such as coal, or oil. When fossil fuels are burned they give off a green house gas
called CO2. Also, mining coal and oil allows methane to escape. How does it escape?
Methane is naturally in the ground. When coal or oil is mined you have to dig up the
earth a little bit. When you dig up the fossil fuels you dig up the methane as well
letting it escape into the atmosphere.

Another major man-made cause of Global Warming is population. More people means
more food, and more methods of transportation. That means more methane because
there will be more burning of fossil fuels (if you're into gas burning cars like our planet
is), and more agriculture. If you've been in a barn filled with animals and you smelled
something terrible, you were smelling methane. Another source of methane is manure.
Because more food is needed to feed the population we have to raise food. Animals
like cows are a source of food which means more manure and hence more methane.
Another problem with the increasing population is transportation. More people means
more cars, and more cars means more pollution. Also, many people have more than
one car. There are definitely ways of raising animals and farming that use no manure
and no methane. Once we realized the problem we should have stopped immediately
using manure. Instead we choose to continue killing the planet. We are a very stubborn
race.

Since CO2 contributes to global warming, the increase in population makes the
problem worse because we breathe out CO2. Also, the trees that convert our CO2 to
oxygen are being cut down because we're using the land that we cut the trees down
from as property for our homes and buildings. We are not replacing the trees (trees are
a very important part of our eco-system), so we are constantly taking advantage of our
natural resources and giving nothing back in return.
Global Warming Impacts and Effects
The effects of Global Warming can already be seen
The IPCC's Third Assessment Report finds that in the last 40 years, the global
average sea level has risen, ocean heat content has increased, and snow
cover and ice extent have decreased, which threatens to inundate low-lying
island nations and coastal regions throughout the world.

Effects of global warming already being felt on plants and

animals worldwide
Global warming is having a significant impact on hundreds of plant and animal
species around the world -- although the most dramatic effects may not be felt
for decades, according to a new study in the journal Nature.
"Birds are laying eggs earlier than usual, plants are flowering earlier and
mammals are breaking hibernation sooner,"
"Clearly, if such ecological changes are now being detected when the globe
has warmed by an estimated average of only 1 degree F (0.6 C) over the past
100 years, then many more far-reaching effects on species and ecosystems
will probably occur by 2100, when temperatures could increase as much as 11
F (6 C)."

Global Warming Effects that will happen in the future:

Global warming will have serious impacts on the environment and on society.
Higher temperatures will cause a melting of ice in Greenland and Antarctica.
This will accelerate the rise of sea level. The speed at which global warming is
expected to occur in the 21st century is faster than most plant and animal
species will be able to cope with. Some will adapt but others will suffer and
may become extinct.
Global warming will affect agriculture. New crops will be able to be grown in
areas that are currently too cold to support them. However, more pests and
diseases may offset any benefits higher temperatures may have. Water
resources will also be affected. Some reservoirs may dry up if temperature
increases, especially if rainfall also decreases. Rising sea levels may pollute
fresh groundwater supplies with salt water.
Global warming will also affect human health. There may be more heat-related
illnesses in hotter summers, and increased breathing problems as higher
temperatures increase air pollution in cities, reducing air quality. The malaria
mosquito may also be able to spread to other regions of the world where it is
currently too cold to survive and breed.
More extreme weather, for example storms, floods and droughts will have severe
impacts on the environment and on society. The poorest people in society will
unfortunately be those least able to cope with the impacts of global warming.

The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring process that aids in heating the
Earth's surface and atmosphere. It results from the fact that certain atmospheric
gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, are able to change the
energy balance of the planet by absorbing longwave radiation emitted from the
Earth's surface. Without the greenhouse effect life on this planet would
probably not exist as the average temperature of the Earth would be a chilly
-18° Celsius, rather than the present 15° Celsius.

As energy from the Sun passes through the atmosphere a number of things take
place (see Figure 7h-1). A portion of the energy (26% globally) is reflected or
scattered back to space by clouds and other atmospheric particles. About 19%
of the energy available is absorbed by clouds, gases (like ozone), and particles
in the atmosphere. Of the remaining 55% of the solar energy passing through
the Earth's atmosphere, 4% is reflected from the surface back to space. On
average, about 51% of the Sun's radiation reaches the surface. This energy is
then used in a number of processes, including the heating of the ground surface;
the melting of ice and snow and the evaporation of water; and plant
photosynthesis.

The heating of the ground by sunlight causes the Earth's surface to become a
radiator of energy in the longwave band (sometimes called infrared radiation).
This emission of energy is generally directed to space (see Figure 7h-2).
However, only a small portion of this energy actually makes it back to space.
The majority of the outgoing infrared radiation is absorbed by the greenhouse
gases

Global warming is very likely to produce other changes :

– retreat of glaciers,
– meGlobal warming is very likely to produce other changes :
– retreat of glaciers,
–melting of pack ice,
– rise in average sea level,
– changes in precipitation patterns, resulting in floods and droughts,
– increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events such as hurricanes
and cyclones,
– changes in the circulation patterns of marine currents, such as the Gulf Stream and the
North-Atlantic Drift, which could result in the cooling of certain regions

Global Warming effects

 Green house gases stay can stay in the atmosphere for an amount of years ranging from decades
to hundreds and thousands of years. No matter what we do, global warming is going to have some
effect on Earth. Here are the 5 deadliest effects of global warming.

5. Spread of disease As northern countries warm, disease carrying insects migrate north, bringing
plague and disease with them. Indeed some scientists believe that in some countries thanks to
global warming, malaria has not been fully eradicated.

4. Warmer waters and more hurricanes As the temperature of oceans rises, so will the
probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. We saw in this in 2004 and 2005.

3. Increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat waves Although some areas
of Earth will become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat
waves. Africa will receive the worst of it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe. Water
is already a dangerously rare commodity in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could lead to conflicts and war.

2. Economic consequences Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming won’t be

good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences.
Hurricanes cause do billions of dollars in damage, diseases cost money to treat and control and
conflicts exacerbate all of these.

1. Polar ice caps melting The ice caps melting is a four-pronged danger.

First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and
permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today
the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels
will rise.

Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice caps are fresh
water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, or in plain English - make it less salty.
The desalinization of the gulf current will "screw up" ocean currents, which regulate temperatures.
The stream shutdown or irregularity would cool the area around north-east America and Western
Europe. Luckily, that will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area!

Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger several species
of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white, and reflect
sunlight, much of which is relected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the
only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

prevention

Global warming refers to the Earth’s air and oceans gradually heating up to a point that disrupts
balance, a problem that is continually getting worse. It sounds like a problem too massive for any
one individual to take on, but it really isn’t. Combining any few of these suggestions can make
more of a dramatic effect than most people understand. The goal is to emit less carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere. Delicious Reddit Stumble Upon Facebook Google Flag Article Instructions
Difficulty: Easy Step

1. Drive less. Take bikes, walk or carpool whenever possible.

2. Consider investing in a hybrid or electric vehicle to help prevent against further global
warming.
3. Replace all the lightbulbs in and around your home with energy-efficient fluorescents that
use fewer watts for the same amount of light.
4. Clean or replace your filters monthly.
5. Choose energy-efficient appliances when it's time to buy new ones.
6. Decrease your air travel.
7. Wash clothes in cold water and line-dry whenever possible.
8. Use a low-flow showerhead, which will lessen the hot water used but not drop your water
pressure in the shower.
9. Cut down on your garbage—buy fewer packaged materials to prevent further global
warming.
10. Unplug electronics when they are not in use, because they still take up energy. At the
very least, turn items off when they’re not being used.
11. Run the dishwasher and clothes washer only when you have a full load, and if available,
use the energy-saving setting.
12. Insulate your home better, and don’t forget to repair or replace worn caulking or weather-
stripping. Insulate your water heater.
13. Buy recycled paper products and recycle as much of your waste as possible.
14. Bring your own reusable canvas grocery bags when grocery shopping.
15. Plant a tree.